Quranic root
زجو
z · j · w
The root centers on pushing or urging something so that it proceeds, with extensions to driving things along, making them pass, and describing things as scanty or deficient.
The basic notion of causing movement develops into uses for vehicles and clouds, the circulation of money, the successful or effective progress of affairs, and descriptions of goods or persons as weak, deficient, or of little account.
- Mufradāt · row 611
- Lane · entry 30919
- Lane · entry 30920
- 2
- Quran-attested forms
- 2
- Quran senses
- 3
- Quran occurrences
Forms in the Quran
The forms this root actually takes in the Quran. Select one to jump to its senses and examples.
أَزْجَى
ʾazjā
- Part of speech
- Verb · Form IV
- Form
- IV
- Quran occurrences
- 2 occurrences
Selected examples are shown with the sense they illustrate — chosen to teach that sense, not the complete list of this form’s Quran occurrences.
To drive or urge along so that something proceeds; to propel it onward, often gently or gradually.
In Quranic usage, said of driving a ship through the sea and driving clouds along. The gentleness or gradualness is a contextual nuance, not an obligatory part of the verb's meaning.
- Lane · entry 30920
- Mufradāt · row 611
Selected Quran examples
Quran 17:66word 3
“drives”
Quran 24:43word 5
“drives”
مُزْجًى
muzjan
- Part of speech
- Passive participle
- Quran occurrences
- 1 occurrence
Selected examples are shown with the sense they illustrate — chosen to teach that sense, not the complete list of this form’s Quran occurrences.
Scanty, paltry, or of little account; in the Quranic phrase, describing merchandise regarded as poor or insufficient.
The Quranic occurrence is the feminine form مُزْجَاةٌ in بِضَاعَةٌ مُزْجَاةٌ. Lexical explanations variously emphasize small quantity, poor quality or value, rejection, or merchandise offered or moved along in small portions.
- Lane · entry 30925
- Mufradāt · row 611
Selected Quran examples
Quran 12:88word 12
“(of) little value”
Occurrences in the Quran
Every place this root appears, in Quran order. The first few are shown here.
View all 3 occurrencesBroader Classical Arabic meanings
Recorded for this root in the Classical lexicons beyond its Quran usage. These are secondary to the Quran senses above.
Show 15 Classical meanings
زَجَا
To go or proceed, or to become urged along, quickly.
An intransitive use said of a thing that moves or advances.
- Lane · entry 30919
زَجَا
To pass or be current.
Said especially of bad or deficient money that nevertheless circulates.
- Lane · entry 30919
زَجَا
To become easy, go right, or be right in its direction or tendency.
Said of an affair or of a tax that becomes easy to collect; also used in a reported expression for a prayer that is right or valid.
- Lane · entry 30919
زَجَاءٌ
Effective execution or penetrating energy in an affair.
The term may describe an accomplishment or a small gift whose effect is greater than its quantity would suggest.
- Lane · entry 30919
زَجَا
To stop or be cut short.
Attested in the expression for laughter that continues until it is stopped or cut short.
- Lane · entry 30919
زَجَّى
To push or drive something onward, gently or otherwise, and urge it to proceed.
The Form II causative is used of such things as camels, a young animal, clouds, or a person urged on by speech.
- Lane · entry 30920
زَجَّى
To push on or make one's days or life pass.
Used with days or worldly life, especially where passing them requires exertion or persistence against hardship.
- Lane · entry 30920
زَجَّى
To make do with scanty sustenance in one's worldly life.
Attested in an expression about pushing one's worldly life onward with only limited possessions.
- Lane · entry 30920
زَجَّى
To make easy the attainment of a need.
A transitive use said of making a desired matter attainable.
- Lane · entry 30920
أَزْجَى
To make money pass or become current.
Said especially of making bad or deficient money circulate.
- Lane · entry 30921
تَزَجَّى بِـ
To content oneself with something or make do with what is available.
A Form V construction with بِـ, including contentment with what is sufficient of one's worldly possessions.
- Lane · entry 30922
أَزْجَى
More penetrating or effective in an affair than another.
A comparative description of relative effectiveness or success in carrying out a matter.
- Lane · entry 30924
مُزْجًى
Driven or urged onward little by little in its pace.
Applied to a horse or other beast that is being urged along gradually.
- Lane · entry 30925
مُزَجَّى
Weak or lagging and needing to be urged on; by extension, deficient in nobility or another praiseworthy quality.
Applied to a person or thing; one reported use describes someone driven to generosity against his will.
- Lane · entry 30926
مِزْجَاءٌ
A person who urges on the camel or other beast he rides.
A descriptive noun for a rider noted for driving his mount frequently or forcefully.
- Lane · entry 30927
Cautions
Points that affect how this root should be read.
The Quranic nominal is feminine مُزْجَاةٌ, while the public headword is normalized to the supported masculine passive-participial citation form مُزْجًى.
Interpretations of the Quranic merchandise expression emphasize related but not identical nuances, including scant quantity, poor value or quality, rejection, and movement in small portions; these are grouped under one sense because they describe the same lexical construction.